2005 LJR R2.8 build

Engine mounts complete with steering shaft bracket installed


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Installed throttle pedal, Pcm brackets, and fuel/oil filter bracket. I was trying to find where the fuel filter bracket went for a couple days now lol it’s so obvious now that it’s installed but man that had me stumped.

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Installed the provided rivnuts

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Bracket covers the original throttle cable hole

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Removed the gas only restrictor from the filler neck so we can use the diesel pump. Also the Jeep was burping gas on the side when he would fill it up so went inside the tank removed the check valve. It was stuck down, not closing when the tank would get full causing it to poor out. Took it apart and sanded the ridges down slightly to allow smooth operation.

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Most all the pics are not showing. Have a galaxy8. Why are some pics showing, while most others are not? Seems the first 2/3 of them fail to show. Been dreaming about this ever since I first heard about it. What kind of money are we talking about here, if it is not too rude to ask? I've heard $10k all in, but then I've heard under $5k for the engine. Also heard $11k for the engine.
 
Lovin' your conversion @1945GPW by the way this coming from another diesel Jeeper!

If I weren't in California I would have installed the Cummins diesel in my TJ but living here in the 1 party state where communism is alive and well, I decided to convert my old CJ to diesel power. Haven't really put up a build of it since this is a TJ site but maybe I will someday since lots of the same info is somewhat redundant and similar.

My specs:

1985 CJ-7 Laredo edition Jeep
3.9L Cummins 4B-T
P7100 pump
Ford SAE adapter
ZF5-42 5 speed transmission (1-Ton Ford)
D300 Twin-Stick transfer case
Ford Sterling 8.8 rear axle 4.11 gears, Detroit locker
76 Dana 44 Camper special GM 4.10'sm ARB air locker
Home made double cardan front & rear drive shafts
Springover front suspension, 2.5" springs
4.5" SUA 2.5" rear springs
4 wheel disc brakes
Maunal lockout hubs
8x15 imitation street lock rims
33x12.5x15 Goodyear MT/R Kevlar tires
34 gallon steel armored desert tank.
3" exhaust system


Future mods:
Air-to-Air intake intercooler system
On board air compressor system
On board welding system
Family roll cage bar from a 92+ YJ

Our TJ Wrangler ended up getting a Magnum V8 conversion made smog legal for the California market and I have a thread on the buildup where stage 3 is going on now after the conversion for continued upgrades.

I also have an 09 JKUR which would be real nice with a modern diesel conversion in it too someday......

The tow mule/camper is a GMC DuraMax diesel & Allison transmission 4x4.

Did I mention I am a diesel fan?

RR
 
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Most all the pics are not showing. Have a galaxy8. Why are some pics showing, while most others are not? Seems the first 2/3 of them fail to show. Been dreaming about this ever since I first heard about it. What kind of money are we talking about here, if it is not too rude to ask? I've heard $10k all in, but then I've heard under $5k for the engine. Also heard $11k for the engine.


I'm not sure about the pictures, Is anyone else having issues seeing them? I see them just fine on my desktop and Iphone.


Depending what you can get the engine for, they go on a 15% sale from time to time so figure $7800 just for the engine. and if you go with the complete conversion kit including AC its about $11000 for that. So total about $19000 for the conversion. add the LJR onto that and its still cheaper than a new jeep and much nicer in my opinion.
 
No problems seeing any pics on my Galaxy Note9 BTW.
Yeah, I love the TJ/LJ platform but with my young family all wanting to go with me, we usually take out the JKUR since it's 4 doors and all.

I think the diesel is the last engine I will put in the old CJ. I've had 5 different motors in it since it was new 35 years ago. The diesel being the most fun. 2nd would have been the LM7 Vortec gasser V8. The other 350 V8's were okay but they were in the carburetor era and not what I would ever want to run today......

I did a similar modification to the fuel filler restrictor & check valves in the gas tank on my diesel Jeep and the gasser still has the restrictor in the GenRight desert tank or the gestapo would never have passed the V8 conversion in the TJ.

RR
 
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It's looking great. Your adapter looks different than mine.

The fuel filter bracket is made for the newer TJs and guess work in the older ones. I got it eventually but had to enlarge some holes.

I'm jealous, your welds look so much better than mine. My MIG had taken a dump and I thought maybe I could TIG them, but I had to use an extension on my welder so I couldn't get more than a handful of amps. I used stick, which I have the least experience with, but so far they're not broken.

It's funny that the nations with more strict emissions standards practically mandate diesel. A Jeep is meant to be a diesel vehicle. IMO, unless you're doing some specialized activity, all 4wd vehicles would benefit being diesel (assuming price and availability wasn't artificially/CA strangled). I think most people don't have the experience and assume most diesels are basically just a NA 7.3L International or Cadillac's diesel 350 from back in the day, if they're older and haven't been around equipment.
 
The exhaust is to close for the AC accumulator to fit in the original location so i modified the bracket and battery tray. I ground a notch in the bracket and bent it to the desired spot then welded it. Unfortunately moving it will require a new hose to the evaporator.

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Nice progress. Do you need to remove the hard coolant line off the back of your engine to fit as well?
 
We need some updates.....;)...... How is it going so far? Other than the AC evaporator have you run across any other issues? Has there been any parts up to this point that were not included in the kit from Axis?

Thanks for documenting this.....
 


Are you planning on adding your own oil pressure sending unit? I totally F'ed up when I did mine after I installed the engine and didn't get it quite tight enough and then STRIPPED out the fitting going into the oil cooler, when I did add oil and found a leak and rushed to tighten the adapter. I disassembled the oil cooler and cleaned up the mess and stopped the leaking, but it's in no way the way I want it to be in that area. When I took off one of the large diameter oil hoses to clean out the cooler properly, I have intermittently found a leak there or something really weird is happening. The way the engine is installed now, I can't get a good feel on my wrenches to try and tighten the fitting down and I have another theory about the "leak", but it's complicated, so I'm certainly afraid to get wrenches on there and strip out more stuff, so I'm going wait and really inspect this area when I've got my axle out and inner fender well off or something.

So just be extremely careful if you don't have that sensor/adapter in place. It gets tight in there and I had access issues and my wrench wasn't on the adapter fitting when I tightened the outer part.
 
I haven't made much progress the past couple days. Mainly waiting for the radiator to come in so I can see how I want to route the power steering lines. One thing I would recommend is before you install your oil and fuel filter on the bracket is to break the torque on the filters. They were on so tight from Cummins I had to removed the assembly to put them in a vise since there isn’t enough room for a filter tool with everything installed. I don't see why they installed them so tight.

So far the only things I've had to purchase are a gauge pod and LED advisory lights, new battery terminals, clamps and hardware to secure the new fuel lines to the frame.


The hard coolant line has plenty of room between the firewall. One thing I am not impressed on is how close all the wiring is to the exhaust. There aren't many ways to route it due to length so I'm thinking of building a heat shield that will attach to the exhaust to protect all the wiring a little better.

For the oil psi sensor Axis provides a remote mounting bracket with line to attach your sensor to.

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I had to modify the hard coolant line brackets after installing the intake clocking ring as it wouldn't fit correctly. I completely removed the front bracket and cut the rear one off then welded it back on approximately half inch aft to allow the coolant line to sit in its normal location.

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Fuel lines installed and fuel tank is back in

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Installed the gauge pod and LED wait to start light next to the gauge. Down the road will install an egt or something to fill the other hole.
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Install the electrical connectors to Cummins ECU before mounting to the fire wall. The AC lines make it impossible to install them.

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Axis temp sensor adapter

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I haven't made much progress the past couple days. Mainly waiting for the radiator to come in so I can see how I want to route the power steering lines. One thing I would recommend is before you install your oil and fuel filter on the bracket is to break the torque on the filters. They were on so tight from Cummins I had to removed the assembly to put them in a vise since there isn’t enough room for a filter tool with everything installed. I don't see why they installed them so tight.

So far the only things I've had to purchase are a gauge pod and LED advisory lights, new battery terminals, clamps and hardware to secure the new fuel lines to the frame.


The hard coolant line has plenty of room between the firewall. One thing I am not impressed on is how close all the wiring is to the exhaust. There aren't many ways to route it due to length so I'm thinking of building a heat shield that will attach to the exhaust to protect all the wiring a little better.

For the oil psi sensor Axis provides a remote mounting bracket with line to attach your sensor to.

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I had to modify the hard coolant line brackets after installing the intake clocking ring as it wouldn't fit correctly. I completely removed the front bracket and cut the rear one off then welded it back on approximately half inch aft to allow the coolant line to sit in its normal location.

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Fuel lines installed and fuel tank is back in

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Installed the gauge pod and LED wait to start light next to the gauge. Down the road will install an egt or something to fill the other hole.
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Install the electrical connectors to Cummins ECU before mounting to the fire wall. The AC lines make it impossible to install them.

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Axis temp sensor adapter

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It's looking great. I didn't get my oil pressure sensor before I installed everything so it was hard to reach and I screwed up. My coolant line was only about an eighth inch clear of the firewall. I think the 97 firewall is subtly different, but axis told me to remove that line and that helped a lot.

The clearance by the turbo and stuff worried me too. The first several hundred miles I just knew that smell was the wiring. It's just another reason the EGR is finding a new home one day. You could probably wrap it with fiberglass and secure it with the metal zip tie like things.

I need to add an egt gauge one of these days.
 
On a side note, went on some back roads on the Utah Colorado border last weekend.. 13 mpg really sucks lol

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You'll be getting 20s soon enough. Are you replacing some other stuff while you await your radiator and CAC stuff?

It's ideal to take it slow anyway. I rushed some parts I should have waited on. I'm excited to see your power steering hose routing. I had clearance issues with mine. I added a body lift and that helped a lot.
 
Looks Awesome!!!!! How are the instructions that come with the AXIS kit? Do they give any guidance on what wires to delete out of your harness?
 
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